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India's team for the Champions Trophy title defence

So with the CT coming up what should be our team for the title defense. This is mine.

Rohit - Hasn't played in a while but his record is still good I guess
Dhawan - Hasn't been good for a while but performs in ICC trophies. Doing decently in IPL though.
Kohli - Nothing to be said
Rahul - Has had some really good knocks in his short career (although T20/test)
Dhoni - Doesn't seem to have same mojo but did OK against Eng
Yuvraj - Same as above
Jadhav - Has done well recently. Can bowl a bit
Pandya - Not really a good bowler but I guess makes up for it in hitting ability
Ashwin - Always decent
Jadeja - Always decent
Shami - Good record but hasn't played ODIs in a long long time
Bumrah - Good bowler. Great at the death.

On paper seems like a decent lineup but we have a few with good records who haven't played in a long long time (Shami/Rohit), some are old but looking to have regained a bit of their old mojo but who knows (Yuvraj/Dhoni) and some are youngsters with potential (Bumrah/Jadhav/Pandya/Rahul).

Only Kohli/Ashwin/Jadeja are the ones who are established and are performing at current capacity. We won in 2013 with Jadeja and Dhawan going to the next level so who knows.

I am fairly confident of beating Pak/Lanka and getting to the semi finals but it's the other four teams that will be tough. The match against SA and the SF/F (if we get there) will be huge shootouts so I don't mind putting Pandya in as he can score runs at a decent clip to compensate for his mediocre bowling. Jadeja/Ashwin are OK batters too.

For India to prosper they need Kohli to be in supreme form. I'm afraid if chasing a stiff total Kohli gets out for a low score then India will not be able to overhaul the score. It is Kohli or nothing.

Rishabh should come in for Dhawan although the management is trying their best to fit him in the middle order and rightly so.

Rahul in place of Dhawan and Rishabh in 2 down? Dhawan did OKish for India B and Rishabh in team would make it too fresh. We do have warm ups like last time right? Last time warmups were responsible for the Rohit/Dhawan partnership which is one of the best opening partnerships ever (as much as some guys hate one of them or both). Vijay was tried in the warmups and failed badly.

Rahul in place of Dhawan and Rishabh in 2 down? Dhawan did OKish for India B and Rishabh in team would make it too fresh. We do have warm ups like last time right? Last time warmups were responsible for the Rohit/Dhawan partnership which is one of the best opening partnerships ever (as much as some guys hate one of them or both). Vijay was tried in the warmups and failed badly.

Fresh is the need mate,do you remember last CT? We won it coz team was fresh,the only time we have genuinely won big tournaments without being fresh is 2011 WC and 2002 ICC champ trophy(shared).

In cricket, my superhero is Sachin Tendulkar. He has always been my hero.
-Virat Kohli

For India to prosper they need Kohli to be in supreme form. I'm afraid if chasing a stiff total Kohli gets out for a low score then India will not be able to overhaul the score. It is Kohli or nothing.

Kohli always is in pretty decent form as is Ashwin/Jadeja. It's Yuvraj/Dhoni I am worried about. Dhoni is ok but Yuvraj keeps "returning" only to keep flopping badly again. Also Pandya need to up his bowling or he is going to get hit for plenty which I guess the management has agreed upon as a necessary compromise for his batting (just like England plays only all rounders over bowlers) but if Pandya can up his bowling then it bodes well for us as the other 4 (Shami, Bumrah, Jadeja, Ashwin) are pretty decent.

So with the CT coming up what should be our team for the title defense. This is mine.

Rohit - Hasn't played in a while but his record is still good I guess
Dhawan - Hasn't been good for a while but performs in ICC trophies. Doing decently in IPL though.
Kohli - Nothing to be said
Rahul - Has had some really good knocks in his short career (although T20/test)
Dhoni - Doesn't seem to have same mojo but did OK against Eng
Yuvraj - Same as above
Jadhav - Has done well recently. Can bowl a bit
Pandya - Not really a good bowler but I guess makes up for it in hitting ability
Ashwin - Always decent
Jadeja - Always decent
Shami - Good record but hasn't played ODIs in a long long time
Bumrah - Good bowler. Great at the death.

On paper seems like a decent lineup but we have a few with good records who haven't played in a long long time (Shami/Rohit), some are old but looking to have regained a bit of their old mojo but who knows (Yuvraj/Dhoni) and some are youngsters with potential (Bumrah/Jadhav/Pandya/Rahul).

Only Kohli/Ashwin/Jadeja are the ones who are established and are performing at current capacity. We won in 2013 with Jadeja and Dhawan going to the next level so who knows.

I am fairly confident of beating Pak/Lanka and getting to the semi finals but it's the other four teams that will be tough. The match against SA and the SF/F (if we get there) will be huge shootouts so I don't mind putting Pandya in as he can score runs at a decent clip to compensate for his mediocre bowling. Jadeja/Ashwin are OK batters too.

More or less, very much settled unit, though few players are there for reputation. Don't think MS, UV, Rohit & Dhawan are the same players they were 4 years back. 2 specialist spinners might a bit over kill, if UV is there, while Pandeya isn't still good enough as 3rd seemer. Besides, this pace attack isn't that good with new ball & now they'll use 2 balls. IND can play 2 of the 3 all-rounders (Ash, Jad, Pand), but one new ball specialist has to be there in playing XI - BK, Ishant or Umesh.

Personally, I'll play both Umesh & BK with Shami & the spin pair - Pandeya & Bumrah can be part of squad. I'll pick Raina as well & play him in starting XI - but not sure whom to drop between UV, Rohit or Dhawan. Without a lefti in middle order, IND'll suffer same as PAK against left-arm spinners darting from over the wicket with 6-3 field in middle overs.

For a change - IND/PAK mach will be much, much closer than most thinks. I think, IND's advantage will start from the toss - if Virat wins it, he'll send PAK to bat; if Sarfu wins it, he'll decide to test his openers' quality against moving ball in early morning.

I am not too sure who India might play since I have no working knowledge of their current crop barring Kohli and maybe Rahanne/Pujara however I want Pakistan to field Junaid and Aamir as the opening bowlers and 1st change should be Hassan - Please no Wahab FGS

With Maddy and Shady taking over the spin dept I expect a very close and competitive game.

I am not too sure who India might play since I have no working knowledge of their current crop barring Kohli and maybe Rahanne/Pujara however I want Pakistan to field Junaid and Aamir as the opening bowlers and 1st change should be Hassan - Please no Wahab FGS

With Maddy and Shady taking over the spin dept I expect a very close and competitive game.

Riaz does turn it up in these tournaments and playing two spinners against India would be counterproductive.

Shadab should be our sole spinner because he has that unknown quality about him and we have two defensive spinners (Hafeez and Malik) to cover him if India do take him on. Four pacers are a must though. Amir, Junaid, Hassan and Riaz should both play.

Also Pandya need to up his bowling or he is going to get hit for plenty which I guess the management has agreed upon as a necessary compromise for his batting (just like England plays only all rounders over bowlers) but if Pandya can up his bowling then it bodes well for us as the other 4 (Shami, Bumrah, Jadeja, Ashwin) are pretty decent.

Don't understand this constant criticism of Pandya's bowling. He was our best bowler in the 1st and 3rd ODIs in the recent series against England.

I am not too sure who India might play since I have no working knowledge of their current crop barring Kohli and maybe Rahanne/Pujara however I want Pakistan to field Junaid and Aamir as the opening bowlers and 1st change should be Hassan - Please no Wahab FGS

With Maddy and Shady taking over the spin dept I expect a very close and competitive game.

Even if our bowling dismisses the Indians for a sub-par score of around 220, you really think TTFs like Kami, Shehzad and Hafeez will chase it down? Good luck.

Riaz does turn it up in these tournaments and playing two spinners against India would be counterproductive.

Shadab should be our sole spinner because he has that unknown quality about him and we have two defensive spinners (Hafeez and Malik) to cover him if India do take him on. Four pacers are a must though. Amir, Junaid, Hassan and Riaz should both play.

Why should we change our strategy based on the opposition?

If Imad and Shadab are working for us and the pitches in England are a bit conducive to spinners in the summers then we should play both whether the opposition is India or Papa New Guinea.

Also India's spin playing ability is a tad bit overhyped. We have seen over the years how spinners have had the better of their famed batting line-up. Yes they have folks like Kohli or Yuvraj who absolutely murder spinners but you are playing three pacers to handle those folks. Also the Indians would never have seen Shadab and his googly is mighty hard to pick when playing for the first time. Sure they can do all sorts of video analysis, but cricket is not played infront of a laptop screen. It is one thing to know what's coming, a completely different thing to play it. He made Pakistan's premier batsman, Babar Azam, look like a tailender twice in two consecutive balls (across two innings) to dismiss him bowled and plumb in front.

I disagree. Rahul is excellent. Nothing needs to be said about Kohli. Jedhav has been a good find for them. Other than that the batting line-up is paper thin is playing on past performance. In the bowling line-up Ashwin and Jadeja are the biggest threats, maybe Bumrah will show up in a couple of matches. Other than that the bowling lacks venom.

I disagree. Rahul is excellent. Nothing needs to be said about Kohli. Jedhav has been a good find for them. Other than that the batting line-up is paper thin is playing on past performance. In the bowling line-up Ashwin and Jadeja are the biggest threats, maybe Bumrah will show up in a couple of matches. Other than that the bowling lacks venom.

Yuvraj and Dhoni are match winners on their day.
Shami and Yadav will be good if the conditions offer swing and pitches arent flat.

Sarfi as captain'll lead us to glory.Babar'll be our best odi bat & Haris'll be world class in tests

No place for MSD. He is done. Those reflexes are gone. He still shows flashes of it once in a while. But with him, India are playing one batsman short. Pant is much better than him. The only advantage that MSD has is his presence in crunch situations.

If Imad and Shadab are working for us and the pitches in England are a bit conducive to spinners in the summers then we should play both whether the opposition is India or Papa New Guinea.

Also India's spin playing ability is a tad bit overhyped. We have seen over the years how spinners have had the better of their famed batting line-up. Yes they have folks like Kohli or Yuvraj who absolutely murder spinners but you are playing three pacers to handle those folks. Also the Indians would never have seen Shadab and his googly is mighty hard to pick when playing for the first time. Sure they can do all sorts of video analysis, but cricket is not played infront of a laptop screen. It is one thing to know what's coming, a completely different thing to play it. He made Pakistan's premier batsman, Babar Azam, look like a tailender twice in two consecutive balls (across two innings) to dismiss him bowled and plumb in front.

It makes perfect sense to play four pacers against India, just like it makes sense to play two spinners against Australia. You want our strategy of playing two spinners to fail before you change anything? That is very reactionary.

India is definitely overhyped at playing spin but they are still much better against it than they are against pace. Especially with the like of Yuvraj and Dhoni in their team who will still milk spinners around for singles and hit them when needed but slowing reflexes has meant that Riaz's pace will trouble them.

Four pacers and a sole spinner should be our primary attack. Hafeez and Malik will probably play so we have the extra spinners if needed.

I rather have Gambhir than Pant for now . We need to send the best team that can win this trophy. I wouldn't recommend inexperienced to be included in the side. Yuvi, Pant and Dhoni combination can be a disaster if things don't go well.

If the comedy troop (that our selectors love) plays, its all in the hands of God.

Chennai payyana nee ? . How can you leave Dhoni out? I wouldn't want Dhoni either but we need an experienced wicket keeper and Pant is inexperienced for a middle order wicket keeping position at an important tournament. Uthappa is a choker and should be avoided at all cost. Mishy in for Chahal for experience wise and Pandya as a back up for Jaddu.

I rather have Gambhir than Pant for now . We need to send the best team that can win this trophy. I wouldn't recommend inexperienced to be included in the side. Yuvi, Pant and Dhoni combination can be a disaster if things don't go well.

Yeah I can agree with that. Gambhir is beasting right now and his experience does count .
It can be however Dhoni needs to be there, I don't think Saha is ready for a CT pressure as of right now and his power hitting isn't as close to Dhoni. Also Dhoni being in the side gives Kohli a cooler brain to bounce ideas with. Without Him , Kohli may get a bit unnerved.
Toss up between Yuvi and Pant I'd say

Saha is a better option than Dhoni. Solid wicketkeeping and can really smack the ball around at the right time.

Yeh I wouldn't take Saha over Dhoni for now.
Dhoni - brings a brilliant thinking mind , experience and proven ability to hit while being the better keeper
Saha - good keeper , unproven hitting for now , limited high pressure experience

Yeh I wouldn't take Saha over Dhoni for now.
Dhoni - brings a brilliant thinking mind , experience and proven ability to hit while being the better keeper
Saha - good keeper , unproven hitting for now , limited high pressure experience

Dhoni brings nothing. The mind part is overrated. I want someone to collect the ball and hit it.